TSX down as Chinese economic growth slows

Stock markets in Canada and elsewhere were in retreat early Friday after data showed the Chinese economy growing at a slower rate than economists thought.

Shortly after the open, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 76.57 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 12,138.08. A day earlier, the TSX jumped 187.89 points, or 1.56 per cent.

Official data from China showed that country’s economy had grown 8.1 per cent in the first quarter from one year earlier, the slowest growth in three years. Economists polled by Bloomberg were expecting 8.4 per cent.

In U.S. economic data, consumer prices rose by a monthly rate of 0.3 per cent in March as expected, down from 0.4 per cent in February.

On the commodities market, crude oil was down 19 cents to $103.45 US a barrel in New York. Gold fell $8.50 to $1,672.10 US an ounce.

The Canadian dollar was up one basis point to $1.0056 US.

On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 43.5 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 12,944.08 in early action. The Nasdaq composite index fell 13.48 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 3,042.07. On Thursday, the Dow saw a gain of 181.19 points, or 1.41 per cent, while the Nasdaq was up 39.09 points, or 1.3 per cent.

The United Kingdom’s FTSE was down 32.36 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 5,678.10 on Friday. France’s CAC fell 41.23 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 3,228.56. In Germany, the DAX was down 50.21 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 6,693.03.

Japan’s Nikkei index was up 113.2 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 9,637.99. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 373.72 points, or 1.84 per cent, to 20,701.04. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite rose 8.3 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 2,359.16.